Even for teenagers, cheap does not always equate with cheerful. When funds are tight - as they usually are for adolescents - £20 misspent can seem like an extremely costly error. Making the right decisions is particularly important for this age group - however limited their funds, peer judgement is more critical still. So a big welcome deserves to be given to a new shop aimed at this market, and determinedly keeping prices low, which opened last week in Wicklow town.
China has been established by former model Barbara Cluskey and her sister Devlyn, who both insist their maturity precludes them wearing any of the stock. "We've made a pact neither of us will be seen in these clothes," says Barbara, who classifies her target customer as aged "from 15/16 onwards, for anyone who's young at heart. Most of the stuff wouldn't fit me; after a certain age, every woman's shape changes."
Since her marriage to Charlie O'Reilly-Hyland, Barbara has lived in Co Wicklow and Devlyn, whose wedding is scheduled for September, will be moving to the area soon. The pair are definitely bullish about their China shop, believing there is demand for the lines they plan to carry. They are focusing on a youthful clientele, Barbara explains, "because until now there has been a shortage of these kind of clothes around here.
"People were always complaining they or their children had to go to Dublin to find what they wanted and eventually my husband Charlie said to me, `why don't you open somewhere?' " Each sister brings her own experience to the project. In the late 1980s as her modelling career drew to a close, Barbara owned a shop in Hampstead - "admittedly at the other end of the scale" - while Devlyn used to work in the Versace wholesale business in England. Their combined skills ought to serve them well but in addition they undertook plenty of research before entering the retail trade together.
"We checked out what was happening in Dublin and London to see how other retailers operated," says Barbara. "The shop's design is typical of what's happening now, with wooden floors, pale walls, bright lights and plenty of music. But we're not going to be too crammed full of stuff. China is big enough to walk around and see everything." And there should be plenty to see. The Cluskeys expect to have fresh supplies of stock every six weeks because teenage customers like regular turnover and the constant promise of new items. Prices have also been kept low, starting at less than £5 and rarely rising above £35 save for a handful of exceptional pieces.
"Because we are out of the city, we don't have the same huge overheads and so our policy is to be cheaper than Dublin," Barbara argues. Who knows, once word gets out about the shop, there could be slow boats and fast cars bound for China.